Blues extend lead at the top in race for the title

Chelsea extended their lead in the league to 10 points after a comfortable victory against a less than convincing West Ham on Monday night.

Chelsea approached the game knowing that Tottenham and Manchester City had already won over the weekend to close the gap to 7 points and this did not phase them at all.

Even though they didnt play as well as they usually do, they never looked in any danger of losing.
Slaven Bilic’s Hammers have had an up and down season and they still do not look comfortable at their new home, London Stadium.

West Ham were missing Michail Antonio due to injury but Andy Carroll was fit and led the line. Crosses into the box were expected as Chelsea defended them well with Luiz and Cahil in the centre of defence.

Goals from Eden Hazard and Diego Costa either side of the halves saw Chelsea easing to victory though Andre Ayew, who suffered an injury on his debut for West Ham against Chelsea on the first game of the season, scored a consolation goal in the 90th minute.

Chelsea gained the 3 points and made Antonio Conte’s men look more like the Premiership Championship would be heading to Stamford Bridge. With Hazard and Costa’s attacking intellect and Kante holding the midfield, Conte’s first season in charge of the Blues looks as though it will be a successful one.

West Ham will be disappointed with the loss at home and Slaven Bilic looks as though he is in need of a striker who can consistently score goals. Andy Carroll could be an answer but though he has the versatility of a striker, he is always targeted for crosses and nothing else.

The loss of Dimitri Payet has weakened the team but West Ham do have decent quality in the squad such as Lanzini, Antonio and Snodgrass. Bilic’s men need to do more at home and become consistent if they are ever to challenge for anything other than a top 10 position.